Reanne Evans became the first female player to win a match in the Snooker Shoot Out tournament by beating Stuart Bingham on Thursday night.
Evans, a 12-time women's world champion and an icon of the sport, made the most of the one-frame format in Leicester to prevail 60-8. She'll now face world No 17 Gary Wilson in the second round on Friday night.
An early break of 21 put Evans in control against the 2015 male world champion, before she pulled clear for her landmark win. And afterwards, she told Eurosport that refusing to put pressure on herself proved the key.
"I think I wasn't expecting that much and that did the deal," said the 37-year-old, who last year joined Allison Fisher in the Snooker Hall of Fame "I know I won, but that's the first time I felt a little more relaxed."
It was Evans' first professional win since 2017, but she's not stranger for hitting the headlines in her battles with male players. Her famous 61-match winning run at the peak of the powers included victory over the then reigning world champion John Higgins, who she beat 4–3 at the 2009 Six-red World Championship.
In the 2021 British Open, she was drawn in the first round against Mark Allen, her former partner and father of her teenage daughter. Admitting the pair had a strained relationship following a dispute over child support, Evans refused Allen's offer of a pre-match handshake, but after leading 2-1 was eventually beaten 3-2 by 'The Pistol'.
But Evans hasn't been the only female involved in an historic result at the Shoot Out, dubbed the sport's version of T20 cricket. Moldovan starlet Vladislav Gradinar made history by becoming the youngest player ever to win a televised match at the age of 14.
The teenager, who previously won the English under-14 championship, completed a comprehensive 40-1 win over three-time women's world champion Ng On-yee in the first round. He will now face Viktor Sarkis on Friday for a place in round three.
The competition now seems wide open with world No 2 Mark Selby losing 22-20 to Mark Davis. The likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump declined an invitation to play at the Morningside Arena.
